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Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East
Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East is the second in a series of novels for children. Publisher's summary Before the Black Pearl was cursed, there was a young captain named Jack Sparrow An army of shadows has been amassed. This Shadow Army has one goal: to find and kill all the Pirate Lords who rule over the Seven Seas. But the soothsayer Tia Dalma has other plans for the Lords and cannot allow them to be destroyed. With few options at her disposal, she calls upon the one man who can turn the tide—Captain Jack Sparrow. Volume Two in the epic Legends of the Brethren Court series follows the trail of Shadow Gold to Asia, where Pirate Lords Mistress Ching and Sao Feng reluctantly join forces with Jack Sparrow in an attempt to conquer the East India Trading Company. Will they prevail? Or will the Seven Seas fall under the reign of the Company and the lord of shadows? Plot One morning in his sprawling estate, Benedict Huntington, manager, lord, and chief of all business appertaining to the East India Trading Company in Hong Kong and its surrounding seas, reads a letter from a colleague warning him of the emerging threat of the Shadow Lord. Brushing off his friend's warning as nothing more than "flights of fancy, ridiculous fears, and soft-hearted sentimentality", Benedict attempts to hide the letter as his young wife, Barbara Huntington, sweeps into the room, but Mrs. Huntington spots the movement instantly and swipes the letter before Benedict can stop her. After reading it for herself, Barbara comes to the same conclusion as her husband that the warning was nothing more than ghost stories. As Benedict begins to dismiss the matter entirely, Barbara suggests that they can use the situation to their advantage, asserting that terrified bureaucrats are so easy to manipulate. She stipulates that they could use the information to expand Benedict's position to encompass the entire Pacific Ocean, or else make a deal with the Shadow Lord himself to rid the sea of pirates forever. As they discuss their mutual hatred of Mistress Ching, Benedict assures his wife that before long, Ching and every other pirate will be twitching at the end of the rope somewhere in the Seven Seas. Meanwhile, somewhere in the Strait of Magellan, Jack Sparrow and the crew of the Black Pearl battle against a howling gale as they attempt to navigate around the tip of South America on their way to the Pacific Ocean. As Billy, Jean, and Marcella begin discussing how Jack will go about trying to get the next vial of Shadow Gold from Mistress Ching, two enormous explosions suddenly rock the ship, and Billy and Jean realize they are coming under cannon fire. With his spyglass, Jack sees that the attack is coming from two of Mistress Ching's Junk, and realizes that the Pirate Lord's men must think the Pearl has entered the territory to try and steal their plunder. After shouting at the junks that this is not the case fails to put a halt to their fire, Jack orders the crew to man the cannons and trim the sails. After an intense battle, the crew manages to wound one of the Chinese junks and Jack cleverly maneuvers the Pearl so that the broken ship is between them and its comrade, thus preventing the intact ship from firing on them. Taking advantage of his ship's legendary speed, Jack is able to slip the Pearl past their foes, and the crew's voyage to Shanghai resumes. As Marcella begins hunting all over the deck for Diego de Leon, he escapes to the crow's nest to keep an eye out for any more Chinese junks with Alex. As Diego nervously tries to strike up a conversation with the zombie, he spots an island in the distance and goes to inform Jack. Jack consults his map, and with Diego's help realizes that the island the boy saw was Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island. Jack is delighted at the idea of stopping there to resupply, wondering if there will be bunnies, baskets and eggs. As the Pearl approached the island, they are baffled and slightly alarmed by the sight of the island's enormous stone heads peering out from the tops of the cliffs. As the crew go ashore and make their way through the jungle to look for water, they eventually come across a stream of bubbling water, and Barbossa, Jean and Diego quickly set to work filling their flasks while Carolina begins searching for fallen coconuts (all while Jack stands back and "supervises"). Marcella meanwhile, plunks herself down in the shade while her companions are hard at work, and just as she resumes her usual complaining that no one on the ship treats her like a lady, a band of tattooed islanders suddenly pop out from behind the palm trees. Several of them speedily wind vines around Marcella before the others lift her over their head and dash away with her through the trees. Following the sound of Marcella's high-pitched shrieks through the jungle, Jack and co. eventually find the girl dumped on the ground surrounded by her captors, and Jean boldly starts to demand that the tribe return her to them. When the islander's chief insists that they pay ransom, Jean is about to give in when Jack hastily covers his mouth and informs the man that they will not pay to get her back, as "she's not the most pleasant traveling companion". As Jean attempts to free himself from Jack's grasp, he notices the discomfort in the chief's eyes, reminded of how Jack looked when he first found out Marcella was joining the crew. Jack inquires as to why the chief wouldn't want her for himself, insisting she'd make such a lovely wife, causing the chief to turn pale and Marcella to kick and bellow furiously into the ground. Jack relinquishes his hold on Jean and turns to leave, when the chief stops them and begs that they take her back. Jack continues to play coy, suggesting that Marcella seems to like it there, and the desperate chief scrambles to offer them money or gifts to take her back, exclaiming "Anything to save our ears!" By the next hour, the tribe have loaded the Pearl with enough fresh food and water to last for weeks, and the chief offers Jack his deepest thanks for taking Marcella off his hands. He gives Jack a mystical miniature stone head in order to "speed up their journey" and begs them to never return to the island before scrambling back up the beach. As Jack turns the stone over in his hand, he notices that flecks of light seem to gleam from its hollow eyes, like something inside was watching him, and that the head seemed to hum a little "with an unfamiliar energy". As soon as Jack steps on board with the stone head, a brisk wind suddenly blows up, guaranteeing them the speedy voyage the chief had promised. As the Pearl's crew resume their journey to Shanghai, Jack finds himself plagued by another nightmare filled with mysterious shadow creatures. This time however, one of the creatures repetitiously warns him that "the Day of the Shadow is coming", much to Jack's bewilderment. When he wakes from the dream and leaves his cabin, he comes across a an even-more-disgruntled-than-usual Barbossa. As Jack jokingly inquires whether Hector "got up on the wrong side of the hammock this morning", Barbossa begins ranting that Jack's been asleep for four days and ignored all their knocking. Jack, disturbed to find how long he'd actually been asleep, insists that he'd simply been busy holed up in his cabin making important plans, and that he left Catastrophe Shane with very clear instructions to steer them to Shanghai. Jack looks over Barbossa's shoulder at the spit of land in the distance and asks whether that's it, at which an entirely frustrated Barbossa reveals that Shane has managed to steer them to New Holland instead. Jack tries to smooth over the situation by insisting that things could have gone worse, and that they might have veered off to Australia, at which an enraged Barbossa scathingly reminds him that New Holland is Australia. They both turn to Catastrophe Shane, who quickly tries to pretend he isn't there. After Jack has Barbossa confirm with his map and compass that it really is Australia, Jack muses that he's never been there and wonders what the rum is like, at which a thoroughly exasperated Barbossa throws the map on the deck and storms away. Shane mumbles an apology to Jack, explaining that he thought that if he kept aiming at the horizon China would show up eventually. A completely unconcerned Jack takes the helm from Shane, figuring all they had to do was sail past Australia, wind the ship around a few islands, head through the South China Sea, and they'd be in Shanghai in no time. As Billy and Jack begin discussing Jack's plan to get Mistress Ching's vial of Shadow Gold, Diego cries out from the crow's nest that he's spotted a red sail heading towards them fast. Billy assumes it must be another one of Mistress Ching's ships, but after looking through his spyglass, Jack determines that the approaching junk is not from her fleet. Just then, an ominous scraping sound from the bottom of the Pearl's hull arises, and rushing to the other side of the ship, Billy realizes that the ship is about to crash into a coral reef. Jack quickly realizes that the only way to save the Pearl is to drop anchor immediately, even though it means letting the strange new ship overcome them. After the other ship pulls in right next to their position, Jack starts trying to think up a plan to get them out of this mess, when a man emerges from the captain's quarters of the junk and, shouting over to Jack, inquires as to why they're in his territory. Jack tries to smooth things over with the man, but much to his consternation, Alex reveals that they are looking for all the Pirate Lords who hold vials of Shadow Gold. The captain states that he may know of what Alex speaks, leading Jack to think that the man was in possession of one of the vials. The captain then insists that Jack come aboard his ship, the Empress. Ordering Barbossa and Carolina to tag along, Jack and the other two swing over to the Empress, where the captain, surprised and indignant to find out they don't already know who he is, introduces himself as Sao Feng, the fiercest pirate to sail the South China Sea. Sao Feng takes Jack, Barbossa, and Carolina to his cabin, where his two attendants, Lian and Park, await. Feng suggests that he and Jack make a bargain of mutual benefit. He reveals that his brother Liang Dao, the current Pirate Lord of Singapore, has sent him on a voyage to find an object of great value: the Deep Sea Opal. Feng explains that the opal is a black gem "as big as a man's fist and shimmering with hidden fire", and that according to legend, any man who possesses it will earn great fortune, power, and fame. However, there is one small problem: according to myth, the opal's power will not go to anyone who steals it, as only those who receive it as a gift will benefit from its glorious effects. The man who is foolhardy enough to steal it, on the other hand, is said to be cursed forever. Feng explains that he doesn't believe in the curse, as he is "not the kind of man who is afraid of hobgoblins and fairy tales", and that he doesn't entirely believe there is any power in the opal beyond its value as a previous gem. However, the pirates who serve under Liang Dao would never consider switching allegiance to Sao Feng if they believed him to be a cursed man. Feng then proposes a deal: he'll get him the vial of Shadow Gold if Jack steals the Deep Sea Opal. Carolina objects, afraid of sailing under a captain whose unwittingly cursed himself, to which Barbossa fervently agrees, asserting that "it's a sign of a poor captain if he can't avoid curses". Jack tries to come up with some way out of the situation, but quickly realizes he has no choice if he wants the terrifying nightmares to end. Upon inquiring where he could find the opal, Sao Feng informs him that it is located deep, deep under the sea, down in the watery depths. At this Jack refuses to comply, exclaiming that he won't steal from or deal with mermaids anymore after learning his lesson a long time ago. Sao Feng cuts him off, insisting that it isn't mermaids they have to fear, as "the spirits are different here". He elaborates that according to legend, the one who guards the Deep Sea Opal is a creature called the Rainbow Serpent. He dismisses the idea as being nothing but folklore meant to scare away those who might steal the gem, however, and assures Jack he will encounter neither beast nor finned women on his quest. He then informs Jack that Lian will accompany him to ensure there are no tricks. Jack is initially affronted, but then relinquishes it's probably fair, blowing a kiss to Lian behind Sao Feng's back. Barbossa refuses to go along on the quest, so Jack decides to take Diego and Billy along with him and Lian. The quartet then make their way to the deck of the ship, and after they all jump in over the edge, Jack, Diego, and Billy follow Lian down to the depths of the sea. The female pirate leads them all the way to an air-filled cavern on the ocean floor, with bright, shimmering walls that remind Jack of the cavern he had met the "Scaly Tails" in as a teenager. Making their way across the cave, the pirates come across a tunnel with a strange multicolor light glowing at the end of it. As they pass through, the tunnel opens up into an enormous cave, where the quartet discover the source of the strange rainbow light: a sleeping giant snake with bright, swirling colors shifting through its iridescent scales. After getting over their initial awe of the magnificent creature, the quartet realize that it's guarding yet another cave, the only exit from the room. The pirates manage to tiptoe past the unconscious Rainbow Serpent and duck into the next cavern, where they find a pool of clear water lit by a glow from within its depths. As the pirates draw closer, they realize that the mystical light is coming from the giant Deep Sea Opal shimmering within the center of the water. Jack attempts to get Diego to reach in and grab the gem for him, claiming that he doesn't want to get his hands wet (despite still being drenched from the swim down through the ocean). But Diego sees right through Jack and refuses to touch it, exclaiming that with the Spanish Royal Navy still after him and Carolina, he needs all the luck he can get. After failing to get Billy and Lian to take the gem, Jack edges closer to the pool, mesmerized by the opal's mystical light, when all of a sudden the surface of the water begins to bubble. After a few seconds a creature emerges from the depths of the pool, who turns out to be none other than the mermaid Morveren, whom Jack had encountered several years ago as a youth. Startled, the quartet turn to the exit of a cave in hopes of escape, only to find that it blocked by the head of the now very awake Rainbow Serpent. When Morveren asks why they have come, Jack decides to be blatantly honest and tells her that he wants the Deep Sea Opal, but doesn't want to steal it for fear of the curse. Morveren respects Jack's "refreshing" honesty, and informs them she is willing to trade if they can offer something valuable enough. Jack, Billy, and Diego struggle to find something on themselves worthy to trade for the opal. As Jack raids his pockets, he pulls out the mystical stone head they'd been given on Rapa Nui, and Morveren's eyes light up when she sees it. Noticing this, Jack begins to act as if he is loath to hand the stone head over in order to entice Morveren more, and is about to propose a duel when the mermaid cuts him off, knowing what he was about to suggest and refusing to go along with the idea because of how he used a duel to slither out of their last agreement. Morveren insists that they trade the stone head for the opal or nothing. Jack and Diego display faux reservations about handing the stone head over, knowing they have to make Morveren believe she's getting the better end of the deal. Morveren demands a trade or threatens to feed them to the Rainbow Serpent. Jack agrees to hand over the stone head, and Morveren gives him the opal. Jack secretly relishes that because she willingly handed it over to him, he will not fall under the gem's curse. Morveren tells the pirates to leave and warns Jack to never come down to that area of the seas again. The quartet make their way out of the cave and back to the surface through a waterspout portal, and a delighted Sao Feng takes them to Liang Dao's palace. Liang Dao's guards lead the group into a palatial throne room filled with hundreds of pirates in blue and green robes. Liang Dao expresses faux relief that his brother has returned unharmed, and Sao Feng gleefully reveals that he has been given the Deep Sea Opal, and uses it to claim the throne of the Pirate Lord. Jack tries to get Sao Feng to give him the vial before the obviously impending swordfight ensues, but Feng insists that Jack and his crew fight alongside him and his men to get what they want. After a massive battle against Liang Dao's warriors, Sao Feng's men and the Black Pearl's crew emerge victorious. As Jack inquires about finally receiving the Shadow Gold, a confused Liang Dao reveals that there is no vial there as he is tied up by Sao Feng's men. Feng smugly denies ever saying that the Shadow Gold was at Liang Dao's palace, and as an indignant Carolina asks about his sense of honor, Feng explains he has every intention of keeping his promise, but they have to make a brief detour along the way. As a furious Jack draws his sword in anger, Feng says that they both know a Pirate Lord who is sure to have a vial, but that only he can take him straight to Mistress Ching. Feng goes on to explain that his brother had been planning a meeting with Mistress Ching for several months to discuss the growing threat of the East India Trading Company in their waters. Feng tells Jack about Benedict Huntington's take-over of operations in Hong Kong and that he is ruthless when it comes to pirates. Sao Feng expresses belief that in order to stop him, the time has come for a joint effort among pirates. Liang Dao's plan however, had been to betray Mistress Ching at the meeting so he could seize control of her fleet. Sao Feng intends to go to the meeting in Hong Kong to decide how to proceed with Ching and whether or not they can find a way to take out Huntington. Jack agrees to Feng's conditions as long as he gives his word not to tell Mistress Ching that he wants her vial. As Lian and Park shamelessly flirt with Jack behind Feng's back, Jack tricks Feng into insisting that the two accompany him on the Pearl by demanding that he sends any of his crew but them to join him on the voyage. During the voyage to Hong Kong, Alex approaches Jack with a message he had just received from Tia Dalma via magic. He explains that according to the voodoo priestess, the Shadow Lord is growing stronger and that the "Day of the Shadow" will soon be at hand. He goes on to explain that according to Tia Dalma, Jack needs to warn his fellow Pirate Lords about this threat instead of continuing to be dishonest with them. Jack is loathe to heed Tia Dalma's advice, but Carolina, who had overheard their entire conversation, insists that they must tell Sao Feng and Mistress Ching, because if the Shadow Lord is really planning something devastating, they're going to have to stand together to stop it. After Jack turns deaf ears to her warnings as well, Carolina resolves to help him deal with the threat of the Shadow Lord whether he admits to needing it or not. Some time later, Benedict and Barbara Huntington, on their way to a top secret meeting, attempt to make their way through the streets of Hong Kong without being noticed. Glancing down a dark alley, Barbara spots someone running away and warns her husband she fears it might have been a pirate. Benedict confidently insists that no pirate would dare walk the streets now, as his agents patrol every inch of the city day and night, and have orders to run any pirate they encounter through, without warning if necessary. Just then they come face to face with a troop of seven East India Trading Company agents on patrol. As Benedict asks the leader of the troop for a report, he notices that the agent's salute isn't quite as polished as he's used to and that the man had a strange sort of bandana covering the lower half of his face. The man tells Benedict that he is seriously ill and has covered himself up to avoid infecting the other agents. Benedict insists that they can avoid contagion for the sake of order, and upon inquiring what disease the agent has, the man insists it's leprosy and convinces Benedict to let them on their way. Barbara, noticing that some of the agents seemed oddly feminine, asks her husband whether or not he's begun allowing women to join the East India Trading Company. Benedict brushes off his wife's concerns, and urges her to hurry along so as to not to keep their "mystery informant" waiting. As the agents continue to march away, it is revealed that they are actually Jack, Billy, Jean, Diego, Carolina, Lian, and Park in disguise. As the party hunch together to consult a route drawn by Sao Feng on a spare bit of parchment, bands of Hong Kong pirates begin dropping from the rooftops and popping out of the alleyways to surround them. The formidable Mistress Ching emerges from among the group and points a silver pistol directly at Jack's face. She begin to interrogate the group, thinking them to be genuine EITC agents because of their outfits. Jack insists that they're actually pirates like them, but the Chinese refuse to believe him, one of whom asserts that no "self-respecting pirate would dress like that". As Jack attempts to explain that they're in disguise, Mistress Ching begins to find his voice and mannerisms familiar and asks if they had ever met before. Jack dramatically re-introduces himself to her, and after recalling who he is, Mistress Ching grows suspicious that he would turn up on the particular day that her and Liang Dao were set to have a meeting. As she inquires as to whether Dao is plotting against her, Sao Feng emerges from the shadows of a nearby alley and explains to her that he is now the Pirate Lord of Singapore. Jack, meanwhile, notices something shimmering underneath Mistress Ching's robes, and realizes that the Pirate Lord is wearing her vial of Shadow Gold around her neck. Mistress Ching leads the way down an alley of little shacks to her opium den, a front that enables her to conduct secret pirate business in the area without being detected. After managing to cross an extremely hazy room filled with opium addicts, the gang make their way to an empty corner of the shack, where Ching and Feng immediately begin discussing how best to proceed in regards to the problem of Benedict Huntington. Carolina, determined to prepare them for the impending Day of the Shadow, boldly steps up and exclaims that Huntington is not their biggest threat right now. As she tries to explain about the Shadow Lord and his plans, Jack begins trying to discredit her sanity, as he figures that if Mistress Ching believes in the Shadow Lord and his army, she may choose to keep the vial of Shadow Gold for herself. Sao Feng expresses curiosity over Carolina's warnings, but Mistress Ching refuses to believe her story, insisting that Benedict Huntington and his men are her only worry right now. Just then, an unfamiliar voice emerges from the smoke-filled room, declaring that he thinks this is very wise of Mistress Ching. As the pirates turn to see who had spoken, Benedict Huntington himself steps through the wisps of curling smoke towards the pirates, gleefully announcing his intention to destroy them. At this, one by one, almost all the men in the opium den stand up and draw their swords and pistols, revealing themselves to be EITC agents in disguise. Feng and Ching each leap to their feet and automatically accuse the other of betrayal, when Liang Dao suddenly emerges from amongst the agents and reveals that he is the one who gave their meeting location to Huntington. Huntington offers a prize to the agent who kills the most pirates, wanting every last one of them dead before the night is through. He points his pistol at Sao Feng and fires, but Lian and Park throw themselves forward and manage to knock their master out of the bullet's path. A major battle then breaks out between the pirates and the agents, all while Huntington stands back and looks on jubilantly. Trying to defend himself in the darkness of the shack, Jack unwittingly sets the den ablaze, and a massive stampede towards the exit breaks out. Once all of the pirates and agents have made it out into the streets, the furious battle resumes throughout the entire square, and Jack and Huntington find themselves facing each other across a water barrel. Benedict reveals to Jack that he has heard of him, and that as he recalls, the EITC is offering a rather large reward for his capture, dead or alive. Benedict then draws his sword, a whip-thin rapier as sinister looking as himself, and skillfully leaping over the barrel, goes to thrust the rapier into Jack's heart, only to find the Pirate Lord is already gone. Hearing a whistling noise above him, Huntington looks up to see Jack standing on the roof of one of the shanties. Spotting him as well, Diego and Carolina make their way to a set of drainpipes and begin climbing up so as to join Jack, kicking off agents attempting to grab at their feet along the way. As Jack tries to come up with the perfect exit line to taunt the agents with, Carolina suddenly yells for Jack to look out, and he ducks just as a bullet whizzes right where his head had been. Turning to Diego, Carolina exclaims that she thought she saw Barbossa fire that shot at Jack, but that she can't be sure because of all the fog. Diego replies that it wouldn't surprise him if it had been Barbossa, and expresses deep distrust for the First Mate before taking Carolina's hand and going after Jack. Jack, intending to escape into the open square at the end of the street, begins trotting across the row of rooftops as the fighting continues below him. However, once he makes it to the last roof, he sees that the fighting has spread to the surrounding streets, and the open square is now filled to the brim with dueling agents and pirates. Carolina meanwhile, stops to admire Mistress Ching's incredible swordsmanship against her opponents, and notices Liang Dao edging towards the female Pirate Lord's back with a knife in his hand. Without stopping to think, the former princess hurls herself straight off the roof of the house and, skillfully twisting in mid-air, kicks Liang Dao in the head before crashing into Mistress Ching, knocking her out of harm's way. As Ching and Carolina struggle to untangle themselves, Jack spots Liang Dao trying to make his way over to his dropped knife from the rooftop. Just as he's about to pick it up, Huntington steps out of the alley behind him and, drawing his sword, nonchalantly skewers his ally through the back. As Dao gasps out with his dying breath about their deal, Huntington icily replies that he makes no deal with pirates before leaving the former Lord of Singapore for dead. Meanwhile, Mistress Ching becomes infuriated at Carolina for saving her from Liang Dao, as she feels this has "dishonored" her. Carolina apologizes, explaining that she meant no disrespect, she just simply did not want to see the Pirate Lord die. Just as she and Diego are about to go join Jean and Billy on the other side of the square, Ching begrudgingly reveals that according to the Pirate Code, she is now in Carolina's debt, and refuses to let the girl leave before they settle the matter. Jack, beginning to experience the effects of the last vial wear off, furiously attempts to mime to Carolina to ask for Ching's Shadow Gold. Carolina ignores him however and demands that the Pirate Lord give her word that when the Day of the Shadow comes, she and Sao Feng will stand together and fight against the Shadow Lord and his army. Ching, taken aback that she and Diego genuinely believe in the Shadow Lord, agrees to Carolina's terms. As she and Carolina shake hands, Jack comes between them and tries to set up a new deal for Ching's vial of Shadow Gold, but Ching outright refuses. As Jack continues to try to bamboozle her into giving it up, Mistress Ching proposes a duel. If Jack wins, he gets the vial of Shadow Gold, but if she wins, she gets his Piece of Eight. Jack is reluctant to take on one of the world's greatest swordswomen with shadows pulling at his hair and weighing down his chest, and tries to dissuade her from the duel, inquiring whether two Pieces of Eight would make her a "Super Pirate Lord". Mistress Ching demands that they duel now, and that they duel the death, lunging at Jack with a ferocity that almost takes him off-guard. As she continues to fight with intense fury, it becomes apparent to Jack that Ching has a secret motive for wanting to kill him besides a mere trinket. Forcing him across the square and up onto a hangman's scaffold, Ching reveals that Jack's father has wronged her many times, and exclaims that she wishes she could see the look on his face when he learns she's killed his son. Jack expresses doubt that her revenge tactic would work, stating that his father would probably be delighted if she'd killed him. Mistress Ching drives Jack all the way to the center of the scaffolding, and Jack struggles to continue blocking her thrusts as he feels himself getting weaker and weaker from the shadow creatures' power. As he is forced to retreat up the scaffolding steps, Jack feels one of the hemp nooses brush against his cheek, and with a sudden burst of inspiration, quickly wraps his free hand in the loop, takes a running leap, and swings out of reach of Ching's next jab. Swinging back across the scaffolding, Jack blocks Ching's sword with his and she jumps back as he swings past, yelling that these are "childish antics" and "not real swordplay". Jack inquires as to whether there's a pirate swordplay rulebook somewhere in existence before swinging past her once again. As Jack continues maneuvering the noose to effectively evade Ching's blows, he unwittingly loses his bearings and finds himself gliding fast towards a post at the end of the scaffolding. Mistress Ching steps forward, ready to skewer Jack the moment he hits the post, but Jack lashes out with one foot, kicking her in the chest. Ching falls backwards, knocked off balance, and Jack, smoothly landing next to the lever that controls the trapdoors, apologizes for what he's about to do before swiftly pulling down on the device. The trapdoor below Mistress Ching falls away, and with a shriek, the Pirate Lord plummets through the opening, dropping her sword on the scaffolding as she crashes down. Jack quickly leaps to the ground, and by the time Ching recovers enough to crawl out from under the scaffold, Jack has his sword pointed at her throat. Carolina cries out for him to not kill her, at which Mistress Ching snaps at the girl to not dare save her again. Jack reveals that he actually has no intention of killing Mistress Ching, as this would prevent her from fulfilling her life-debt to Carolina. He then swears that they will all leave her territory as soon as she lets him have the vial of Shadow Gold, to which Mistress Ching complies. Jack then realizes that the square is nearly empty at this point, as the combined strength of Ching and Feng's men had successfully forced the EITC agents to retreat, and seemingly Benedict Huntington along with them. Before making his way back to the Pearl, a jubilant Jack ducks into a nearby doorway to momentarily rest and drink in the success of their mission. When the rest of the crew find him, he divulges that the next vial they will be pursuing is in the possession of the Pirate Lord of the Indian Ocean, Sri Sumbhajee, and orders them all to the Pearl to begin their journey to India. Unbeknownst to them, however, Benedict Huntington was spying on them from a nearby doorway, and blaming Jack for his defeat that day, began making plans to meet them in India to extract revenge. A few days into the Pearl's voyage to India, Marcella stealthily makes her way below deck, carrying a tin plate of food and a mug of ale towards several stacks of cargo in the corner arranged to create a secret den. As she whispers an apology for the state of the food aboard the ship, it is revealed that there is a stowaway lurking in the compartment. Marcella expresses enormous pleasure to have her new friend aboard, whining about all the "horrid, nasty, smelly men" she's had to contend with. The stowaway extends her gratitude to Marcella, insisting that if it weren't for her, she'd have no where to go. As the woman tells Marcella to remember to call her "Barbara", it is revealed that Marcella has unwittingly helped none other than Mrs. Huntington herself sneak aboard. Appearances Individuals *Jack Sparrow *Sao Feng *Mistress Ching *Carolina *Liang Dao *Morveren *Benedict Huntington *Barbara Huntington *Diego de Leon *Alex *Hector Barbossa *Jean Magliore *Catastrophe Shane *Lian *Park *Billy Turner *Sumbhajee Angria *Tia Dalma *Gombo/Jocard *Bartholomew (Pirate Lord) Locations *Pacific Ocean *China **Hong Kong **Liang Dao's palace **Ching's opium den **Shanghai *Easter Island/Rapa Nui *Strait of Magellan *New Holland/Australia *Indian Ocean *India *North Carolina *New Orleans Ships *''Black Pearl'' *''Empress'' Organizations and titles *Captain *First Mate *Pirate Lord *Crew of the Black Pearl *East India Trading Company *Spanish Royal Navy *Spanish Army Objects *Deep Sea Opal *Miniature stone head *Piece of eight (item) *Hangman's noose *Map Creatures *Mermaid *Rainbow Serpent *Dog *Parrot Miscellanea *Hanging de:Legends of the Brethren Court: Rising in the East Category:Pirates of the Caribbean: Legends of the Brethren Court Category:Real-world books